Get out of Advertising. (p. 88-89)

It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want To Be shows the benefits of failure and of learning from experience. It also highlights getting inspiration from elsewhere and not being stuck in a bubble of your own specific field. Like The Start Up of You laments- you need to keep exploring to find your passion. You do not just wake up one day having a set passion and stay directly on a planned route to realize that specific dream. So, trying new things that you may potentially be very bad at is essential. However, I think it’s sad but true to say that Americans reward perfection and on an individual level have very low patience for working hard to learn something new that does not immediately apply to their direct vision of success. They expect to be good at everything instantly and if they aren’t good they make excuses (I’m definitely guilty of this! High School Chemistry was no easy task.). One can champion over something they are naturally good at but it takes a very rare individual to be open to their real interests in which they may not be lacking immediate talent.

Fail. Fail again. Fail better. – Samuel Becket (p. 52-53)

This fear of failure, not just in finishing a task, but even starting a task, is exactly why one must look at their mindset before they take the advice of “learning from failure.” A book I brought to class but didn’t have time to discuss is called Mindset by Carol Dweck. She mentions two types of mindsets, the fixed mindset and the growth mindset. The fixed mindset means believing that one has a limited sense of ability-if they were going to be good at something they would be good at it when they tried. Even though people in this mindset may be working very hard, it is for the feedback and praise of others. Success is short lived, and they stick to their most gifted field to ensure they get it.

Do not seek praise, seek criticism. (p. 26-27)

The growth mindset means living in the moment and being open to learning new things; living with an understanding that one can improve on anything as long as they put in effort. Failure is welcomed because it means that there is a chance for improvement. Success is not measured in feedback from others, it is measured by effort and transformation. So, although it is great that the book encourages to learn from failure, it is essential that individuals examine their mindset towards success and failure. Learning from failures that happen is one thing, but seeking out opportunities to fail on a daily basis is another (this also means seeking out chances to succeed; same difference!).